The United States Debt Meltdown, And The Coming Dollar Collapse

The United States government and the Federal Reserve must keep interest rates near zero – because if they don’t, there will be great difficulty in paying the interest on the debt they’ve accumulated, which could bring it all (the economy and our way of life) crashing down.

There’s one problem though. The only way the United States can maintain their zero interest rate policies is for the world to continue accepting the dollar as the world’s reserve currency. The thing is – they’re not, and plans are nearly implemented to circumvent the United States dollar for major countries such as Russia and China (and others).

The carrot and the stick approach (by the United States) isn’t working so well anymore. The carrot (the strength of the dollar) is becoming increasingly rotten and the stick (the willingness to use the military) has weakened considerably as Americans have grown war weary.

UPDATE 2018

I originally wrote about this back during 2014 and I find it remarkable 4 years later that the situation is worse today than it ever was, even though “the economy” is apparently “up” according to some pundits.

The US Debt is now more than $21 Trillion.Unfunded Liabilities top $113 Trillion.

Note: As part of the “unfunded liabilities”, the government also owes the Social Security Trust Fund and other federal agencies. That’s called Intragovernmental Debt. It’s not included in the interest on the debt. That’s because it’s money the government owes itself. It explains why the American people own most of the U.S. debt!

Presently, the United States is paying approximately $310 Billion interest on its debt. The interest on the debt consumes 7.4 percent of the FY 2018 U.S. federal budget. That makes it the fourth largest budget item. It won’t take much to push that statistic higher…

Is anyone familiar with Venezuela? Think something like that can’t or won’t happen here in some form or another?

I know, so don’t bash me in the comments… We’re nothing like Venezuela. I get that. Hopefully we stay off the socialist (or worse) road. And I realize that the dollar fiat currency is still the king of the hill. At least until it isn’t any more.

Does anyone remember when interest rates were high several decades ago? The higher the interest rates go, the bigger problem it is for the US government.

Read on…

There’s No More Gold

It is likely that there is little gold left in United States coffers to back up American debt. Technically the dollar is not backed by gold anyway (since Nixon in the ’70s), and the gold for the most part is believed to have left the country. It is believed that much of it has gone east to Asia and beyond while the FED and gold central banks have suppressed the dollar price of gold.

Physical gold is being gobbled up on the world market (apparently other nations still value this ‘ancient relic’ as real money [sarcasm]). Not too long ago the United States was only able to deliver a tiny fraction of Germany’s gold after they requested (demanded) it back – exemplifying the likelihood that there is barely any gold left on reserve. The FED refuses to audit their (supposed) gold.

Fewer Are Buying United States Debt

Fewer nations are willingly purchasing United States debt (Treasuries). The FED is looking for other ways to sell their debt, one of the latest being the “myRA” – a covert grab for its citizens’ money, an IRA-style which invests only in United States Treasuries (debt). One wonders how long until something like this becomes mandatory and retirement accounts are nationalized.

The Debt Is Massive

The current United States National Debt is more than $17.5 Trillion ($21 Trillion – 2018). What that actually means for each and everyone in the US Workforce, you are effectively indebted for $112,434 ($136,020 – 2018). And that figure keeps rising.

If you also consider adding the debt obligations for unfunded liabilities (Social Security & Medicare), the new total becomes $137 Trillion ($880,200 for each in the workforce) – the future does not look very bright to say the least…

Read on…

Few People See The Coming Collapse

A relatively few people see the collapse that is coming. It is mathematically unavoidable. The majority of those who do not see it (refusing to see it?) may think the rest of us are crazy for such thoughts. Sadly many of them will be hurt badly while those of us who choose to do something about it will fare better (although we will not escape it).

Never Before In History

In all of world history, no nation (none – ever) has accumulated as much debt that the United States has. Not even close. We are the most indebted nation in the entire world. In fact the entire WORLD is in debt beyond comprehension.

Debt Comes Due

As most of us know (logically), we can only spend ‘so much’ beyond our ‘take home’ pay before we get cut off. There is always a day of reckoning. One way or the other we suffer the consequences. It is little different with nation debt.

When We’re ‘Shut Off’

When the rest of the world cuts off our debt (our credit card) – and they are beginning to do just that while finding other mechanisms for trade and currency exchange – the US dollar is done for. All of the trillions of dollars out there in the rest of the world will start rushing back home (as it’s sold off) and the inevitable result is currency inflation. This will start a chain reaction that will not be stopped. It (currency collapse) has happened eventually to EVERY currency in world history, and it WILL happen to the dollar.

Normalcy Bias

We are stuck in our normalcy bias and cannot imagine or comprehend that the dollar could possibly collapse. We live in our fairy tale world and do not have the vision or the sense of history to understand reality. We believe that we are magically isolated from economic collapse. It has never happened to us before, therefore it will never happen to us.

Caught Off Guard

When the economic situation deteriorates, most people will be entirely caught off guard with little or no preparation – thanks to the massive mainstream coverup and propaganda (in an effort to keep everyone happy, spending, bread & circuses).

Warning Signs

The warning signs are everywhere. In my estimation we have a (mostly) corrupt government in cahoots with big business, big money, and big banks. Most of us (thinking people) realize that few politicians actually represent our personal and individual interests over that of big money and big power – it’s an unfortunate human condition if left unchecked. The problem is that it has been essentially unchecked for far too long, and it is essentially seemingly too late. Therefore we must prepare for what lies ahead.

What Lies Ahead?

We are in uncharted territory due to the massive extent of our bad situation. Whether or not the powers-that-be will be able to control our inevitable crash landing remains to be seen. They’ve managed to keep it together so far… However I personally believe that at some point they will lose control and all bets are off.

There will (at a minimum) be social unrest (there already is). This could easily spiral into social chaos and beyond – especially in regions. If this bubble bursts badly, the results will surely be very bad.

There will be millions upon millions of people hurled into desperation as their standard of living is abruptly changed for the worse. It could be shocking.

My hope is that the balloon will instead maintain its apparent slow leak such that the air is released at a relatively slow rate while people attempt to adjust to their diminished circumstances. This is not to say there will be no unrest – this will only dampen the violence of an abrupt stop.

What To Do?

Your best survivability will stem from a thought process of self-sufficiency, self-protection & preservation, and insulation from dangerous geographical areas (cities and metros) which will ‘catch fire’ in a collapse.

The rest of the details are up to you and your due-diligence.
I hope that you give it some thought.

(I’ve updated this from its original posting during 2014. Feel free to add to the comments below.)

149 Comments

SilentNoMore
on 04/22/2014 at 6:08 PM

Good article Ken.

Normalcy bias is like the ostrich syndrome or “a trend in motion will continue to remain in motion.”

Since it’s “never” happened (at least in their lifetime) it won’t ever happen. We’ve had several generations since the Great Depression. Most under age 40 don’t have a clue, since few people from that era are still around to share their experiences. (A thirteen year old in 1930 would be 97 today if my math is good.)

The only thing keeping the dollar afloat is faith. As you have said some of that faith is beginning to wane. What starts off in slow motion may quickly accelerate into a hyperinflationary spiral.

One book I read a long time ago was “The Alpha Strategy.” The basic premise is to only hold minimal cash and invest everything else in “production” that has a super long shelf life.

SilentNoMore “The Alpha Strategy.” is a great book from the 1980’s. The author “John Pugsley” had some great info in it, he does a good job pointing out what true wealth is (and its not dollar bills). I read it every year or so.

Simply put, they will quit working when their take-home doesn’t buy anything (like food or rent). If they’re renting (what is it, 60%+ are med-term renters), and not working – they may start hustling now-super-cheap dollars, to pay their rent (depending how fast those dollars wing their way home, and how quickly the prices of ‘things’ go up, and how many of those ‘things’ the poor have to sell). Leaving rental property owners with only their current incomes (now worthless due to inflation). Pricing new rentals at the going rate (or adopting Israel’s hyperinflationary business models/contracts) will be unaffordable for the slaves, most of whom probably aren’t working anyways (ie: w/o income).

ie: see massive homelessness, and refugee-type stuff.

And if people aren’t working, you can kiss the rest of the economy good-bye, even for those slaves who’re paid a bit more by the man.

Being a business owner is going to be tough too – you can’t afford workers (unless you’re going to be paying in food and shelter, then you may have your pick), and your security costs are going to rise 1000%-fold – unless you happen to have an already bunkerized business. Expect retail to look like it does in Mexico, where there are a lot of things behind windows, and people will pull them out for you (hire more clerks) after you’ve paid.

That said, I’m not sure rural is gonna be all that much better. Try protecting your property vs. hordes of people streaming out to pick garbage heaps or your property (eg: 1930s depression, lines of Americans waiting patiently to scavenge from dumps). Shotguns vs. Okies from the dustbowl? Do you have enough people to protect your acreage? And gas to move them around to trouble spots on your property line indefinitely? How many bullets do you have? The cops may be helping the masses, as their salaries aren’t going to be worth spit either. But perhaps a good strategy would be to co-opt them, but how’re you going to stay on top of that tiger?

Add into this the necessary ecological rehabilitation that we should be doing, that if left undone may destroy productivity everywhere, including your little homestead…

The Roman empire fell due to the mercenaries mobilizing against the government. The Romans ascended to a level of arrogance that made them sitting ducks. Corruption, currency debasement, etc. All this is happening NOW FOLKS. WAKE UP. ALL CORRUPT GOVERNMENTS THAT HAVE MANIPULATED MARKETS AND CURRENCY COLLAPSED.

I just found this article – and it’s spot on. I’ve been wondering when I’d find an article that would give the actual reason for the Fed keeping interest rates near zero – I’ve been saying for several years to others that the Fed can’t raise interest rates because the payments on the national debt would sail past $1 Trillion a year. The math is simple – if the debt is $20 Trillion (actually is $21+ Trillion) then 10% would be $2 Trillion per year – that would eat up most of the govt’s tax revenue. So let’s try 5% – that would be $1 Trillion per year. Well then they’d have to severely cut the defense budget and other areas including maybe medicare and social security. Nope – can’t do that. Ok let’s try 2.5% – that’s $500 Billion per year. Damn – that’s still too high. So of course the Fed needs to keep the interest rates extremely low.

But eventually it’s all going to pop and things are going to get very very bad here in the United States. All of the signs are there – huge societal divide (those that support Trump attacked by those that don’t), dropping of academic standards (universities not using the ACT and SAT anymore), lowering the bar to allow minorities to get jobs (FAA, U.S. military – two Navy ships colliding with commercial ships in the middle of the ocean within a year of each other, etc.), and so on.

Russia and China just have to wait us out – no need for a “shooting war” – they will just wait until we implode. Then they can pick over the carcass for whatever they want as trophies.

Jim, Thanks for your comment. It inspired me to update this article with 2018 data and to realize that we’re really not any better off today than when I wrote it during 2014.

In fact other than the apparent ‘Trump’ economic boost, we’re deeper in debt and other nations are moving further away from buying our treasuries while working more and more ‘around’ the dollar instead of ‘with’ the dollar.

It’s only a matter of time. It’s a mathematical certainty. How much time? I really don’t know. The US dollar is still king of the hill, at least until it’s not anymore.

Ken brings up some good points…but when is the big question. Ofcourse no one knows the answer to this mystery so the next best thing is knowing and following the warning signs.

I believe that the collapse started in 2008/2009 and especially when interest rates crashed and for obvious reasons (major warning signs). A lot of the posters and readers on this site are probably experiencing some “preparation burnout”. I have been prepping since 2009 and got really serous in 2010 and am experiencing a little burnout but mostly because we feel that we could survive for a year or so with no outside assistance other than banning together with our neighbors and/or friends. Our confidence lever is probably an 8 or 8 1/2 on a scale of 10.

Now we are basically “fine-tuning” our vegetable/orchard farm (started from nothing) and trying to enjoy our retirement more each day.

I agree with Ken and most of the posters on this site that a major socio/economic collapse is inevitable and preparing accordingly will lesson the personal impact and increase survivability.

Also, I’m not re-posting this updated article as doom-and-gloom (as some may instinctively accuse). However it’s an ongoing reminder of what we have hanging over our heads, so to speak.

It’s a motivator for me to be more financially prepared (independent and debt-free as much as possible). It motivates me to focus more on self-sufficiency. It also motivates me to be better prepared for the possibility of future ‘social chaos’.

I agree Yosef. I also believe the collapse started in 2008. We have been sliding down that slide ever since, and just like a slide you pick up speed the farther down you go. This year will be interesting as time goes on.

The government will always get money until it truly can’t. While in decline the governments (state) will raise sales tax and put sales tax on things not taxed. For example, a tax on services. Think about your car mechanic, dentist,and repairman. Property tax will also increase. Expect an evaluator on your doorstep. Internet buying will be taxed (out of state). Think Amazon. That’s billions of dollars of revenue. Car licences, registrations, insurance policies will all be taxed. The government will tax and tax to get money. Once these daily living taxes are in place, they will never be withdrawn.

This, I believe, will be the hardest time for Preppers. Cash in hand is the only way to survive this period until the economy collapses. After that we rely on what we have stored. If you use your stores to survive the heavy taxation you won’t survive the big collapse. Set aside cash.

I’m not sure of the details, but congress (opposite of Pro-gress) just passed a law which has accountants and small business owners up in arms regarding the application of sales tax. As I understand it, those selling online now have to comply with all state, local and federal tax laws regardless of their physical location. Only the physical location of the purchaser matters. I may be entirely wrong on that–I just saw the edge of a very heated conversation between a bunch of accountants.

One thing about sales tax that has always “rubbed me the wrong way” is this:
You buy a new car – truck – whatever.
You pay sales tax on that vehicle.
You trade in or sell that vehicle.
The next person that buys that vehicle pays sales tax AGAIN.
Repeat – Repeat – Repeat
Sales tax is charged over and over again for the SAME THING !

I discovered the excise tax on a vehicle purchase charged by the town office to register the vehicle after I had paid state sales tax to the dealer. Every year registering the vehicle the excise tax is determined by the vehicle value. A Northeast thing, very clever.
Paying tax on social security income that one helps to fund is a neat double-taxation exercise, I have the privilege of paying taxes twice. So nice.

Dennis
on 06/25/2018 at 1:03 PM

Ozarkshermit,

The state I live in (Arkansas) doesn’t miss a trick when it comes to sales tax on new car sales.

Say the MSRP is $40,000 ,you negotiate a sale price of $35,ooo with the dealer, and the manufacturer is offering an additional $5000 off “incentive” because you are a veteran. You pay $30,000 for the vehicle. The state mandates you pay taxes on $35,000 because they consider the $5,000 factory incentive as a gift.

Count your blessings they don’t declare it a ‘bonus’ and tax it at 50%. BTDT.

Andy
on 06/27/2018 at 1:39 PM

As far as the out of state taxing on Internet sales, our State Attorney general has come out for it ,Mississippi, but what he hasn’t realized is even though the SCOTUS has ok’d the sales tax issue, him calling for the tax will probably hurt him when he runs for governor next election, he is a tax and spend democrat anyway. BPAR.kypd.

Another thought ( warning). Expect to see towns extend their borders so you have to pay more. The town will way it is because the out of towers use the arena, library etc. that they should pay their fair share. If that should happen to you suggest that the town offer a purchased pass to the town facilities they use.

There are plenty of financial warning signs for all to see , but most refuse to be aware of the situation at hand. Most of the population appears to be mind- controlled by the media . The sheeple are happy and distracted , don’t want to hear of things unpleasant .

It is impossible that our country continues down the path of unimaginable debt . It will come due some painful day .

Keeping some cash on hand is a good idea. Of far more importance is to be debt free and as self sufficient as you can possibly be . Big cities will be hell holes , if at all possible move away from them to a rural setting.

When a financial collapse occurs , there will probably be rationing and martial law imposed on the population for their safety and well being, how reassuring that is (sarcasm) . Today ,Venezuela is a very good example of how things will play out and it ain’t pretty .

I find it hard to believe that that it hasn’t crashed between your 2014 posting and now.

My preparations for the upcoming crash:
1) Attempt to get debt-free
2) Stockpile cash – Add a little bit each month and prepare to spend it as fast as I can when the crash does happen, before it devalues
3) Invest in tangibles – Long term storage food, Ammo, Physical gold & silver (Pre 1965 US coinage)

SIlver question. I read about people collecting pre 1965 coins because its 90% silver. Why not just buy silver bars that are .999 silver? WHats the difference? Is one a better deal over another? Thank you!

I actually do both. In theory as was said it is easier to fake the silver bars or rounds and lots of people know that the 1964 and below coins are silver so they should be accepted better by some folks. I don’t really think that having PM’s are going to make that much difference in the long run but I purchase them in case it does. As I have often said. I don’t really prep to survive I prep because I am afraid I will.

Since there are a lot of predictions being made, I’ll add my two cents:

I think the govt. will outlaw the private ownership of gold and silver. It happened under Roosevelt (gold) and it will happen again. Barter will become the new currency, even though the govt. will come out with a new “dollar”, to replace the old one and peg it to something.

Price controls will be instituted and rationing will be enacted. If the fall comes suddenly, who knows what other draconian measures will be instituted. The govt. might “temporarily” suspend the Constitution for the “common good” but only until the crisis is over, (it will never be over) and we’ll drift into a situation like Venezuela is in now.

Preppers will be regarded as selfish SOB’s and confiscation of their preps will occur. Their friends will rat them out.

As far as government outlawing gold and or silver ownership. I read someplace that gold was still used as an exchange for things in The US, but was just done so on the quiet and between private people.

And that was back when pride in The USA was at a much higher level then today. Today we trust and respect the government much less then back then and I see this causing more disrespect and disobedience to the government. Gold may be harder to use for deals as it’s value is much higher and would be used in more high-dollar exchanges. And high-dollar exchanges by nature are harder to go unnoticed by governments. But silver is much mire in-line with every day things as far as exchange rate of things we buy so it will be much harder to monitor.

Chuck my friend while silver (both pre 65 coin silver and .999) and gold are useful I have before me a container 26 ounces of Salt. It runs currently for less than a 1.50 each, can be stored nearly forever IF kept dry and away from rodents and was a PRIME Trade item during the US Great Depression.

What value will it have? During the Great Depression it was a hour of skilled labor (fixing a tractor) or a laying hen according to my Grandmother.

Tomorrow I will let you know how many I can put away in a Wal-Mart 5 gallon lidded bucket and total price in todays dollars. I may add a few other barter items in the left over space.

Was salt considered valuable because it is useful for preserving meat? That’s an easy barter item to stockpile; it’s dirt cheap right now!

I’m thinking sugar and alcohol (especially Vodka, which can be used for making herbal medicine & cleaning wounds) would be good barter items. And how about items for mending clothing such as needles and thread. You can buy these new for a song, or get them at estate sales for even less.

Lauren your right renewable barter items are best BUT only if not too common. If there is more apples available than can be eaten then you better know how to dehydrate apple slices for storage or make vinegar/applejack. That’s called skills value added. Knowing how to make loose bowel cures from tree bark/leaves as teas is useful. Skills as to fixing things/healing/gardening successfully (not that easy eh?) valuable.

Chipmunk salt is a critical mineral for human survival, not as much as we currently consume but needed. Salt makes food taste better. Salt water gargles helps treat sore throats and can cure many mouth/tooth problems. Salt preserves many foods like meat/fish useful in making fermented foods like cabbage.

That and where can you FIND Salt in the “Wild”? The Salt Trade is so far in the past the word “Salary” comes from the Roman word to salt “Salarum” Roman Soldiers were often PAID in Salt and they would trade that salt for things from neighboring villages. The phrase “Not worth his salt” spring to mind? Yes WARS have been fought over salt mines.

States that currently ban the sale of Everclear include California, Florida, Maine, Massachusetts, Hawaii, Iowa, Michigan, New York, Nevada, Ohio, Washington, North Carolina, New Hampshire and Minnesota.Nov 26, 2013

NRP
on 06/25/2018 at 3:52 PM

NH Michael;
Number one Barter Item?

You guessed it, Alcohol, good old Moonshine/Beer.

Yes Men and a lot of Woman will sell their souls for a Shot of Shine, tis a fact.

Easy to make, think Beer, and very addicting, almost as bad a Cigarettes.

Oh and an observation about the “Lack of Inflation” Storyline of the Media….

Just a year ago I could have bought a pound bag of any type Wal-Mart dried beans for a DOLLAR or a little less. A Pound Bag of white rice for about 50 cents. Note TODAYS prices in above comment. All were Great Value Wal-Mart brand so apples to apples here.

Why do we accept the Deep States MEDIA message with out fact checking? The US National debt is a noose for our country’s neck and the hangman is getting ready.

Prepare hard, prepare fast prepare more. How will it harm you to eat something STORABLE bought today next year friends? Do you think it will be cheaper next year? Do not run up debt doing it but THINK what you can give up for a better future. Fancy coffee? A little less Phone Plan??

Would someone find it useful for a 5 gallon Wal-Mart storable food bucket example? I am not ashamed to be a Wal-Mart prepper are you?

poorman
on 06/26/2018 at 9:33 PM

Salt was used as currency in olden times. Roman soldiers were paid in salt thus the term ” worth his salt ” You can store a couple of hundred pounds of salt for about 45.00 if you buy the 25lb bags at Sams or Costco. Sugar is another thing that will be in high demand as people will still want comfort foods such as cake and pie’s. Sugar will also last forever and can be bought in 50lb bags at the same places. I also store different spices ( vacuum sealed) as once again these were used as coin of the realm in olden times. If anyone wants to know what to store of value it is no harder than to research what the carried in ships and caravans to different city’s and country’s, remember the USA was supposedly discovered while trying to find a trade route to India for spices.

When does a prepper know that it is safe to barter.? We can practice OPSEC but bartering lets people know you have stuff. I would not want to risk going to a market with a backpack full of stuff.
That is also why it is better to set up communal meals rather than handing out food. Sorry, a little off topic.

The Economy will collapse like every other before it and it will also recover eventually. The problem is the time between these events and the time until they start.

When you consider our Country’s moral decline, entitlement culture, culture of death, and horrific economic situation I see very tough times ahead. The World’s economic state is even worse and that is saying something.

For me geographical safety and preparedness is key (I love Geography, so I have an unnatural love for Maps…HAHA). For me avoiding fights and people is a must.

So, what is a truly usable rural area? Here is what I considered before I moved.
1. A County with a Small Population.
2. A County you are Culturally Compatible with.
3. A County with a large sized area.
4. A County surrounded by Small Counties.
5. No Major Highways or Interstates.
6. A County with an Agricultural Economy and Decent Soil.
7. A Residence located on dead-end roads and travel paths (Like Streams).
8. A Residence capable of Self-Sufficiency.
9. An area where I could be well employed and BE HAPPY!
10. An area with a challenging climate which encourages people to leave, not come.

I moved away from Colorado Springs, Colorado which is basically a death trap. I ended up in South Western North Dakota.

I hope you all are going to or ending up in good places for you. Please look at lots of maps BEFORE you move.

If you’re going to go that far, add to the criteria. A frog won’t stay long in water that’s chlorinated or not hospitable in other ways. They want something to eat, a place to rest, etc, not just “wet.”

So maybe if you created a little frog habitat where the frog actually feels comfortable in the first place, THEN started to raise the water temps (no more than 1 degree per day) it might stay. I don’t know, I’ve never tried it. But I seriously doubt that anyone has ever tried this test over more than about half an hour.

Interesting thing is, it is the cities and heavy population centers that provide the majority of tax revenues to keep the whole house of cards up. As long as the ‘rats in the maze’ keep running around paying taxes to get a piece of cheese, they will do it, it is the only thing they know how to do. Meanwhile, out in the ‘Boonies’ , a lot of us Preppers are ‘Living the Lifestyle’ as Ol’ NRP would say. When the economic bust comes it will be rough for everyone, but we will be better off. Those in the cities will turn mostly on each other, as they have never been out of the maze into the country. Good list BTW, might add ,”a place most people have forgotten about.”

When the Bubble burst, and be very certain it WILL burst, those that are better situated and know the “Lifestyle” will be better situated and knowledgeable with that it will take to outlast others.

Please All remember the Great Depression, who made it through the best? Now yes I know the Droughts hit the Farmers very hard, but the Cities were hit even harder, slammed with Soup Lines, very VERY poor, and yet the Violence was not seen as much, Now think about what would happen now. Hell people ROIT and Loot stores even on “Black Friday” a day of Prosperity, yet think of those that are willing to “take” just because they think they can get away with.

Fast forward to an Economic CRASH or the “Bubble Bursting” Food Chains stop, JIT Fails, Banks Collapse and fail, there is no longer a way to “Get” what it takes to survive a cold or even Dinner.

What can anyone expect from a Society that has no morals now, all alone when their children and families are starving? What would ‘you’ do?

SO yes I believe in living the “Lifestyle”, why? Because it’s a preempt to what I feel in my bones is coming.

Ask Peanut Gallery what a personal SHTF is like, and many others here, now multiply that by 325,000,000 people in the US and 76.BILLION in the world.

Ya-all can do as you wish, but for me, I’m “putting away” and learning every day to be ready for what “MAY” come.

NRP,
I think that ‘this time around’ things will be decidedly different than in the Great Depression (the last major SHTF for our Nation). Riots and unrest could very well happen in the cities and elsewhere because society as a whole has become too ‘soft’, not at all self-reliant. But it will be dealt with differently in different places, I think. Out in the rural parts, people that resort to violence right out of the gate will be taken to task swiftly and harshly by the locals. Those that are needing in the country and stay calm will be helped by their neighbors. The cities will be a different matter, until the PTB figure out that they can’t handle hungry, angry crowds with a soft hand. Marshall Law will become the rule there. There is a very good possibility of it going terribly wrong, with a lot of bloodshed. I pray it does not come to this, but like you I ( and I think most people here on MSB) are planning on the worse-case scenario.
I like your belief of living a prepping “Lifestyle”. As kids we used to call this the “Pioneer Spirit”, living off the land and being self-sufficient. Hippies (you were one of those, right?) called it ,”Getting ‘Back to the Land'”. No matter what you call it the Boy Scouts (of old) summed it up with their motto, ” Be Prepared”.
You can never have too much TP or ‘Natural Solvents’, right?

Minerjim;
Who me??? a Hippy? Well let’s see, So Cal in the 60s….. End of that discussion HAHAHAHA

I do, at times, miss the good old days, yet they were hard times and seems they lasted forever, I wonder if 90% of the folks here would go back to those times?

I do believe the morals of the country have slipped (A LOT) and it seems when you get some folks that deem it ok to Threaten violence, even to the President, spit on and throw some out of a restaurant (that’s happen right now) where does one think the people stand? And a LOT of the Left are encouraging this behavior.

No thank you for I will not be a part of that, as Kalufarmer says” let it burn”. I’m not quite so harsh, but I truly do feel a bad wind is a blowing, and if this don’t stop, there is going to be a LOT of hurt going on, on “Both Sides”.

I do also believe that most that visit this BLOG would also agree, something is just not right, the Economy is not really doing so good, considering all that’s going on (you all know all the signs).

I someone were to ask my opinion, I would have to say “Watch for the world to start using the Chinese Yen to back the Oil Markets”, for then the Dollar will begin its rapid decent, do NOT misunderstand me, the Markets will not crash in a day as many think, nor will the Banks close, but Inflation will again become double digit, Interest rates will also become double digit. Prices will skyrocket, and availability of “goods” will start to show in the stores. BWT, the .gov will still get “their” $$$$ so Taxes will triple or more. After all they need to support their followers and leaches.

I believe that will be the time to become the ‘Gray Man’ and start to hunker down HARD. Ciaos and possible social war will be following shortly.

When? Next week, 4 years from now when Ken posts this article again? But know, sooner or later “it” will happen. OR the Sun will spew out a HUGE burp and nail us with a CME that takes us back 400 years…..

PS;
Is 600 rolls really enough?
May be worth more than that Washington you have in your pocket…..
FYI, “Organic Parts Cleaner”, makes the old duramax diesel run like a Shelby need I say more? 🙂

Minerjim
on 06/25/2018 at 5:17 PM

NRP,
‘Organic Parts Cleaner’ may make the Duramax diesel run well, up to a point. Don’t forget you have to add lubrication to that stuff or you will have issues. Maybe Canola seed oil?
If you want a good read on Prohibition, try reading ,”Last Call” by Daniel Okrent. Any distilling apparatus I would have on the property would be for distilling flowers, plant essences, and water. That’s my story and I am sticking with it .

NRP
on 06/25/2018 at 8:18 PM

Minerjim;
Was testing to see if anyone caught that. 50% alachol would the heads right off a diesel for sure, but would run like a striped ape for about 10 feet. LOLOL

Minerjim
on 06/26/2018 at 9:41 AM

NRP,
A guy up the mesa brews his own canola- diesel for his farm. I am told he runs equipment on it 10 months of the year. No sense wasting good organic parts cleaner on running engines.

NRP
on 06/26/2018 at 10:05 AM

Minerjim;
My friend the Chemist refines Used Oils he gathers around here from restaurants, works very well in the Diesel Jeep he has, smells like a French Fry driving around though, free fuel for a little work, he figures it cost him about $o.25 per gallon.
Unfortunately his neighbors are bitching like crazy about the constant smell, he basically told them to ‘bugger off’ (used different words), no laws about “Restaurant” smells.

Old homesteader,
The SVO systems are where its at, the one my bud runs on his truck has a tank heater and a series of filters that are made from stainless steel so are cleanable and reuseable, are way up in the microns that they filter out, teeny tiny particles and the way the tank is baffled it removes any moisture quite well, his system starts and kills the truck on standard deisel then kicks in after engine gets up to running temperature, pretty sweet, his auxiliary tank for the oil is 110gallon stainless tank, with the combination he has an impressive range, the system takes a little getting used to because of the interface between deisel and SVO but is pretty straight forward, hard thing to get used to was the extended shut down time but he worked around that with a bit of programming,

NRP
on 06/26/2018 at 1:04 PM

0ldhomesteader;
Believe my buddy “refines” the oils just to get 99.99% of the junk and water out of the oils.
Need to ask him more about his process though.

Minerjim
on 06/26/2018 at 3:53 PM

Tommyboy, NRP, Old Homesteader,
I agree that SVO is the way to go if your rig will allow you to set it up that way. Have to start and end on regular diesel as stated, as I think the cloud point of canola is like around 28F. From what I have read, an acre of canola will yield about 150# of oil, (18 gal?). You can brew up your own diesel like NRP’s friend out of restaurant oil, but it requires methanol/ethanol for the reaction (esterification?), and requires filtering and decanting off the glycerin. Either way is good if you have a solid source of oil, either grown or waste. I just need to get everything converted over to diesel.

0ldhomesteader
on 06/26/2018 at 5:07 PM

MINERJIM ,,,NRP ,,,,TOMMYBOY ,,,,has been my experience with SVO ,, in the summer to run filtered oil in tractors ,trucks ,gen sets with no dino diesel , on hot Older style engines start and run ok ,can’t comment about newer stuff ,, in winter I blend 25%dino with SVO that works ok till about zero degrees f after that 50%dino ,, If the oil will flow it will run ,,,

NRP the “History” of the Great Depression has been sanitized according to my Grandmother. She was there when it started as a 10 year old and can tell you how fathers ABANDONED their families to go west or join the CCC. Mothers ABANDONED their children at doorsteps or tried to “Give” them to people who drove cars because they were “wealthy”. Folks stole, murdered and generally did WHATEVER they thought they had to do to survive.

Yes it was worse in cities and some small towns/rural communities banded together under wise leadership and folks were reasonably decent but some studies showed that almost 5% of Americans starved to death and in WW2 many could not meet the Armed Forces induction standards due to poor nutrition/bad teeth etc..

And right now Americans in general have even Less Morals than they had in the Great Depression. Back then Democrats did not beat up Republicans although the Democrats did their best to “Prove” to the People that the Republicans “Caused” the Great Depression. Look up Hoovervilles , Hoover Blankets and such.

And Guess What? A Democrat names Roosevelt became President as well as both houses of Congress went to the Democrats. Gold was Confiscated and we went into the Second World War. Why do you think Mr. Mather recently openly said he “Hopes the market crashes so Trump and Republicans take the fall”.

I wonder if the current homeless cities will be “Trumpvilles” I wonder if a “Limited” War will be the next distraction from Liberal failures? History often rhymes.

My grandfather talked about it, a bit. About how Manhattan stank of rotted food because the government bought the food from the farmers (a sort of subsidy, since no one could afford to buy it) and then dumped it in the ocean so it wouldn’t affect the price of goods. How people would sell bottles of “milk” cheap on the streets which were in reality lye water.

I think it would be fascinating to collect these stories. So much information in the minds of people (the few who are left) who actually remember.

NH Michael;
No argument from me, I remember well the stories my Mom still tells of the Great Depression, and remember what my Father went through to survive and provide for his family.

I just can’t imagine the Country these days doing the same, the people have not seen hard times like you described above, and I still stand the morals are gone (speaking generally of course) hence I still believe If/When the Economy or any number of events that could happen, the outcome will be worst than anyone can imagine, FAR FAR worst.

I just hope those that have 3 working brain cells think about what’s going on, HARD!!!! We speak of collapse and of surviving an EOTWAWKI event, being even a little prepared or knowing the signs may, MAY!!!, give some a chance.

I don’t know how it has lasted this long, it should of come crashing down years ago.

Ken I think you are right, when The USA is no longer the reserve currency is when the bubble will burst.

But the fact that we have a very powerful military I think our leaders will resort to war to protect the US power base.

WWIII is a real possibility and The USA will be the bad guy in it. I think a better part of the World is getting fed up with our bullying tactics. We for a long time (since WWII) have been pushing our will onto others and at some point the push back will happen. Dumping the US dollar is part of that. And I can’t say I blame them, in fact they should have done it long ago.

I don’t really worry about things I can’t change other then to prep and try to position myself to live through what may be just around the corner.

When you measure the possibility of economic disaster against our current standard of living, yes it will appear as a crash.

BUT, when you view our position as compared to the hell holes the economic migrants are leaving (Yemen, Somalia, Libya, Central American countries, ) …. for more prosperous countries, you see we have much further to fall. There are several countries that have been on the precipice of collapse for many years (Venezuela, Italy, Greece, Spain, Brazil, …..) People wanted more support and let socialists take control which eventually led to dictatorships to one degree or another. The sheeple settled for their piece of bread instead of fighting for freedom.

We have one chance to turn from either hyperinflation or default, get representatives in government that will fight for smaller government, work requirements for welfare benefits, merit based immigration, the wall, and a more self sufficient country as a whole. If we don’t, there is no safe place in this country that is out of the reach of a corrupt government or the socialist hordes.

Doom and gloom as suggested by some posters, na, just choices if enough wake up in time.

hermit us I love your optimism. However as a history buff have you noticed how “Well Off” Americans ACT during Black Friday over cheap TV’s?? Have you noticed how folks acted in Baltimore and Ferguson over the “Police Brutality”? Have you noticed how the ever so “Tolerant” Antifa and Liberal Media behave in “Social” settings? Bicycle lock Clubs to protect themselves from “Trigger” words? Peoples lives being destroyed #metoo etc. with out any proof and when Media is FORCED to print a retraction it’s in page 18 or such. That persons life is still destroyed.

I am sorry to say the America I served for over two decades is close to dead. We are like the kayakers on a river that passed that Warning Sign about a Water Fall ahead. For those with ears they can hear the waterfall but right now all looks OK if you accept the Media’s messages.

When the Dollar is no longer accepted by Saudi Arabia as the payment for oil WE ARE TOAST. When Canada wants to buy oil they have to use US Dollars. When Spain wants to buy oil etc. etc……… That Waterfall sound is pretty LOUD as the Chinese Yuan, the Russian Ruble and now the Singapore Dollar is accepted in exchange for oil. When the Euro is accepted for oil that is it. US Dollar’s value is as THE Reserve Currency. Our debt will be a noose when we lose that Reserve status.

The fall my friend will be fast, hard and the results Savage judging from how folks act in “Normal” times to issues.

Two years worth of stored food and safe water/filters doesn’t look so bad now? Yes the neighbors WILL rat you out for a share of the “Take” so DO that Plan B folks. Stop waiting until the crash is here. It worked for those folks Stalin starved out in the Holmadore, they suffered but they did not have to eat their children or simply die.

So we will have to live within our own energy and production supplies.
When currency of any kind do not work anymore, we will find that life does not depend on it.
We are made of tougher stuff than many other countries.

NH Michael,
re:proverbs chapter 27 ,
vs. 10 , Stay with tried and true friends , blood ties may be less trustworthy than true friends. Stay close to them.
vs. 11 , Sons and fathers working things out together make their hearts glad .
vs. 12 , Be alert to the world around you, be aware of dangers and evil and stay gray and out of the way.
vs. 17 , Associate with people of a like mind , you will benefit each other by being on a face to face basis.

My take after a quick read .

NH Michael
on 06/25/2018 at 5:50 PM

Bluesman you bring a Smile to my face.

re verse 17 I’ve heard it as discussing things with a friend brings new ideas out.

One of the pleasures of Modern Survival Blog.

Chuck Findlay
on 06/25/2018 at 1:58 PM

I put up a bit of cash but not a lot, I have a few thousand put up.
But I have a LOT of silver, silver is not a money making thing, but it is a way to save my money that may be outside a dollar collapse so I could use it post-ecnomic crash.

If it doesn’t crash I can always cash in my silver for about the same amount I have in it. So no loss. But if the dollar does crash, and how can it not crash? I have a store of silver that just might be of some value on the other side.

I just can’t bring myself to keep much money in the bank.
First they offer no reasons to do so. They don’t pay interest to me for the privilege of using my money to make themselves more money.

Also it’s likely that a crash will invite a bank holiday (who ever came up with that term?) and they will not let you have your own hard-earned money, or at the very least limit you to a small amount of your own money.

Remember the Jimmy Stewart movie “It’s a Wonderful Life”? in it the savings & loan suffered a money shortage and could not pay out it’s customers money. Back in the 1980’s when I first saw that movie and took away a lesson that few seemed to understand. That being to not trust banks. It was supposed to be an uplifting movie, but I saw it different and never forgot it.

When you put your money in a bank it is no longer your money, you only think it’s yours…

In my opinion it’s foolish to trust your money to the banking system to keep it safe. People in Cypress learned how hard it was to get to their own money in time of need. Grease and Venezuela also suffered under similar problems and I would bet few in The World learned from it.

I also invest heavily in myself as far as skills and tools. I do repair work on homes and businesses and I have the ability to keep doing it post-SHTF.

I also buy quality things that are better made and will last much longer so I won’t have to replace them.

We all like new things to play with, but I try (and I think I succeed pretty good) real hard to not engage in consumerism for the sake of just always buying new junk. Turn the TV off and you don’t get bombarded with advertisements every few min telling you how a given product will make your life complete. When in fact most of that stuff is just junk.

Can’t stop the collapse, but I can try to ready myself to survive it in as much comfort as possible.

My belief is that when many can not have the “good life” anymore, they first turn to drugs, then violence, then suicide rather that working for a better future. Just look at the alarming data on these trends.

SIlver question. I read about people collecting pre 1965 coins because its 90% silver. Why not just buy silver bars that are .999 silver? WHats the difference? Is one a better deal over another? Thank you!

CR,
President Kennedy issued executive order #1101 putting the U.S.treasury in the business of issuing silver certificates . That would have been in conflict with the good folks at the Federal Reserve. He also spoke of breaking apart the CIA so that it would not be so powerful and unaccountable for its actions . Not a good idea to try and change things I guess.

Interesting topic. For quite awhile I have been reading Martin Armstrong’s blog, (www.armstrongeconomics.com) and I am just amazed at the knowledge he imparts about the economies of present and past civilizations. What came to mind today was an article he wrote a few weeks back about when he thinks things will implode. He thinks it will start in Europe (about 2020), then cascade elsewhere. US will definitely take a huge hit. After all, we are a global economy. And I wouldn’t have said this a few years ago, but ‘preps’ are not the number one issue anymore, but getting out of debt is more critical these days, I think (IMHO). And after many, many years of learning to “live the lifestyle” (thank you NRP), I am pretty comfortable. No, we can’t prep for everything. And we all have determine NEED vs. WANT, even in our preps. Simplify. I have thrown out more useless items these days! And we are about to go ahead and starve the beast – by not buying any more goods (especially from China, and Europe isn’t very far behind). Keep your tariff wars. Oh, and since ‘they’ (guess who) now wants to charge state taxes across the internet for purchases, I am no longer of a mind to buy anything on the internet. Ticks me off. We have to STOP CONSUMING unless the purchases are necessary. (Food, prescriptions, etc are necessary). Starve the beast, and see what happens to the economy. Thoughts?

JD 5280,,,,,,,starve the beast ,,,,,,,,,16 hr,,days at the ranch right now ,But no plans to ship to market ,,let them eat cake ,,, or not at all,,,,after folks in the group are taken care of ,to hell with the rest ,,,,the fiat money is not used or welcome here ,,trade in silver or something of value,,,funny how well received silver is now received in trade ,,stray folks that are not part of the group are now open to silver and barter ,,,,easy to work around not using fiat money now
Good post,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, so who is John Galt ?????And why ?????

NRP
It definitely is a statement,
I may die broke and hated by the lefties all around me who say i need to contribute to society because i have ability and resources, i dont care,
NOMFI

NRP
on 06/25/2018 at 4:15 PM

Good timing on the Article Ken;

Dow down today another 314, after a slight gain Friday from 8 straight days of losses.
Bitcoin at 6200 down from a high of almost 19K
Crude Oil in the high 60s and low 70s
AND of course NO inflation or price increases
Ohhhh let’s not forget we’re pissing off the entire world with Tariffs….
What could possibly go wrong?

Hey Hermit,
The volcanos and earthquakes is something i am uneasily waiting for,,, actually cant believe it hasnt happened yet, Kilauea is rattling away with between 550-700+ quakes a day and the lava is still pumping out of the ground in Puna, i keep wondering when the big quake is going to hit and that thing is going to burp and blow, its not if but when.
If you look at the size of MaunaLoa you get some idea of the size of the eruption that built that mountain, only a matter of time until it really gets going and builds another, from the google earth satellite photos you can visualize the movement of the plate over the hot spot that created the islands, the islands got progressively larger and the mountains created by the eruptions also the same, MaunaLoa is huge, how big will the next one be?

I have seen several articles lately talking about the next crash coming within the next 12 to 18 months. Have also talked with a several friends in the financial world and they agree. 2 of them are cashing out by the end of the year and are starting to look for another profession. I am paying down what debt I have as quick as possible. A rough ride coming with all the tariffs hitting and prices going up.

Does anybody else think Maxine Waters attempts to incite mob violence against ICE personnel and Trump Aids a “Hail Mary” attempt to start a revolt to cover for the Fed’s crashing the Economy?

Or maybe the crash is awaiting a good cover story and someone is inciting Maxine to be the face of the revolution? Historically Revolutionaries are always the expendable cannon fodder

I cannot accept that the legal system is so totally liberalized that open revolution and threats to Trumps Family let alone Trump Government Aids are not punishable by a SWAT team. Sad to say I must face the facts that Maxine and other Rich Liberal loud mouths inciting threats are still free and enjoying their supersized lives.

When the kayak tips over the waterfall it’s too late to prepare for the fall. Get ready friends, better a year early than 1 hour late.

I personally don’t believe Maxine Waters could balance a check book much less understand the idiosyncrasies of the Fed and it’s relationship to the economy. No, I believe she is just part of the well organized left wing/ marxist/anarchist movement, with it’s myriad of tax exempt organizations who stand ready to mobilize at when given the orders.

The narrative has been, since Trump won the election, even before he was inaugurated, “Russian collusion”. Then the DOJ Inspector General Report was released. As much as the democrats and the media tried to spin it, it was damning, laying out the outline of how the Obama administration used our intelligence agencies and the Justice Department to try and thwart the will of the electorate.

The attention of the public had to be diverted. Boom! Suddenly, overnight, a new narrative hits the airwaves. At a moment’s notice, demonstrations pop up all across the country, simultaneously, Hollywood types are being quoted, demanding violence against Trump supporters, ICE/Border Patrol, and even those brave enough to openly support Trump. Media is non-stop attacks on Trumps border policies, giving a voice to everyone/anyone to attack him.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll reiterate, the left has it’s soldiers. They are well organized, they are well trained. They practice their tactics regularly. They stand ready to respond on a moments notice when called up. We have witnessed this repeatedly over the past several years. They are well funded. They hate me, you, and anyone who disagrees with their goals.

Conservatives have nothing close to this willingness to put themselves on the front lines to confront these people when they shut down public buildings or harass conservative officials, or anyone who has the temerity to voice a different point of view. No, we will sit back, voicing our disgust from the safety of our homes and among friendlies. No, we will wait until it’s probably to late to put ourselves on the field. Then, when we finally wake up, my worst nightmare, we will be in a full fledged civil war.

Stand by. There is a very high likelihood that evidence has already been gathered that could indict both Hillary, Obama, and the heads of several cabinet level heads. I believe the power brokers on the left know this, explaining the sudden all out effort to avert attention. What remains to be seen is if Jeff Sessions will go for indictments. If he does, this country will devolve into chaos when the groups I’ve spoke of fully implement their final response plan.

Even if I’m completely wrong, we are in for a long, violent summer, or next two and a half years, or until Trump is removed, one way or another. They will stop at nothing less.

This is as close to a rant that I come. My apologies. I’m ranting at myself for my own complacency.

Dennis my friend it is NOT Complacency it’s the understanding that the MEDIA Driven Liberal Agenda has the Courts under their control and any action of the Radical Left will be protected. When the police are not being ordered to Stand Down by liberal politicians (See Baltimore/Ferguson/California in general) any “Arrests” of rioters are quietly released. Do you know of any jail time for assault from “Arrested” Antifa members? Crickets eh?

When Maxine Waters can openly incite violence vs. ICE police (and all police in general) with out going to jail, when Jane Fonda’s B grade movie actor Brother can tell his Twitter Followers (and by the MEDIA stories after) that they should GRAB Trumps Son and Grand Kids and put them in a cage with Pedophiles with out a visit from the Secrete Service and Prison time the system is completely in the hands of the Deep State and it’s Public Face the Liberal Media.

Any Reaction from the MAGA folks will find the full force of Court force upon them AND the MEDIA controlled “Social Media” all over them and their families/allies.

The Media controls the message, the Media is part and parcel of the Deep State that is now openly acting to overthrow the Constitution and the Republic, Expect riots/false flags and FULL COURT Press Media to get the in the middle sheeple so fearful of losing it all they give it away for false safety.

Being in prison is not the best way to prepare or protect your family. The MEDIA wants you to react so they can ID and grab the “Sheep Dogs” among the sheeple. There is a lot of “Patriot Talkers” out there and the Deep State has limited resources so they are willing to provoke a situation (even planting their folks TO Provoke them. Then they will create made for TV (to cow the sheeple) SWAT Raids to capture/kill Domestic Terrorists (AKA anybody not a leftist) A nail that protrudes will get HAMMERED.

It is not the time to go to prison friend the Republic is critically wounded and the Deep State is ready to deal the final kill shots.

We can only outlast the death of the Republic until they run it all into the dirt and even the sheeple revolt. Then the time for action will be here.

Well folks, before we all run into the shelter with our rice & beans and little yippy dogs, if anyone invested $10,000 in the s&p500 with dividend reinvestment during Ken’s original rant in June 2014 until June of 2018 they would have seen a 52% ROI ($15200). Could buy a lot of preps with that…Just remember that the end is near, it’s just late like everything else.

Now that our health care is socialized, the question is: Has our Republic succumbed to Socialism and what comes after…..Communism by the use of “Executive Orders”? Can you say dictatorship. As time goes on and our national problems become even more serious (social unrest, political turmoil by the Democrat Leftists), the POTUS will be forced to use more executive orders to try to keep the train moving in the correct direction…Congress will sit on their hands–you can count on that.

More bad news: our national debt is now $21,126,992,987,164.00 as Ken mentioned and growing at an alarming rate. The interest alone is growing at $5,358.00 per second. The interest payments on the debt is over %7 of our annual budget. WOW!

In addition, the nations “unfunded” mandates are well over $122,000,000,000,000.00 and also growing at an alarming rate (Social Security, Medicare, Medicade, etc). Plus our annual budget is always more than what we bring in with taxes and is never voted on nor approved by congress (using continuing resolutions–that way congress doesn’t own it). Go figure.

Eventually our country will gradually worsen and a social/economic collapse will take place. The US Dollar will no longer be the world standard. Russia and China are working on this event by promoting their own currencies as the new world standard (oil and other commodity purchases and sales).

Not sure where your getting the info that our healthcare is socialized, unless socialized means that one group gets a free ride while the other has to pay through the nose,,,,
Ill starve before i pay for a free ride for someone else, dont care if it causes me to self destruct, i still wont work my arse off to support someone else just because they said

I hear you, im lucky as my significant other DGF pays for mine on her plan at work, is still over 600 a month, a friend of mine and his wife pay a hair over 1200 a month each through the same provider because they are not on a group plan,,, sounds like theft to me, not social

Socialized medicine meaning: if you get sick or hurt, the government will pay for the services if you have no money through our taxes and increased medical care costs. Somebody has to pay. The doctors, nurses and other health care workers will not work for nothing–Neither will the insurance companies. Socialism abounds. Even if you are independently wealthy, you still benefit from socialism in this country.

I just got on Medicare and Supplemental insurances this month (June).
I have paid and worked HARD for well over 48 years now and guess what….

I still pay through the nose for the Supplemental and Drug Supplemental Insurances,

AND pay for the Medicare part ‘B’.

With the part ‘B’ and the Supplemental it’s still 1/4 the O-SHIT-careless (that’s 100% failure) and other Insurances.

SO here I got on my RANT;

WHY in the HELL am I still paying for some lazy POS that sits on their ass and collects Welfare, Food Stamps, SS AND FREE Health care that’s is here ILLIGALLY!!!!!!!! Send their asses BACK to where they came from……

Please note, I have zero problem with those that come here legally and go through the ‘system’, it’s those SHITS!!! (and those that coddle them’ LIBERALS’!!!) that decide to just ‘show up’ and expect me and you to support them 10000%.

You DON’T like our system than LEAVE! Go home, if you come here “legally” than welcome and GET A JOB and help the country and not destroy it with your leaching of the working people.

😎👍🏻i hear ya, this is why i just keep stepping farther and farther back from contributing anything,,,,

0ldhomesteader
on 06/26/2018 at 1:17 PM

NRP ,,,,,,hey old pal ,,,,,,,,,YOU are part of the problem. ,,,,you have been feeding the system ,,,you pay the taxs when you work inside the system ,, so your an accomplice to the very thing your ranting about,,,,,you have read atlas shrugged ,,,you know the way ,,,,,you make things harder for your self and the rest of us in the resistance by feeding the beast ,,,,,,,,,,,you are so very close to the open door to the valley,,,,
,,,,,,,,,,,,,John Galt is alive and well

,,,,,,tea later

aka
on 06/26/2018 at 1:22 PM

I’m good with just sending anyone illegally crossing being immediately put on a bus and sent back over the border. Yep, have buses waiting and send them back.
I rely mostly on the VA. I use my medicare only as a backup in case I have to go the ER. Supplements cost way to much and then all the stuff that isn’t covered is huge.

NRP
on 06/26/2018 at 3:40 PM

oldhomesteader;
Moving this over to the weekend post

Modern Throwback
on 06/27/2018 at 10:56 AM

Hey, NRP, I will be doing the same thing in January. I’ve already projected my payments w/ the health-fraud corp I’ll be using. Won’t be much left in my SS check once I am hit-up for Medicare, and Parts B Supplemental, Dental, Rx, etc.

I also highly resent having to pay for illegals, the morbidly obese who CHOOSE their failed health, the unhealthy who CHOOSE to be unhealthy, and all the other the lazy gimme-dats. Just totally disgusted with it all.

We are planning for my husband to retire March 2019. He will pay $1,151/month for just himself….until he turns 65. I will be 65 when he retires, so thankfully our monthly payout for private insurance is only for ‘self’ and not ‘family.’

This is RIDICULOUS and of course, we never planned for anything so outrageous for retirement. And this is NOT an “emergency” — it is a gouge against the working class.

We don’t have a mortgage and our retirement income will cover the health-insurance-fraud cost which will be for 17 long months until he turns 65. We will begrudgingly pay it so he is fully-covered, but we will not feed the system any longer than the target date in March next year. By design, our health insurance system has morphed into a corrupt system as a means to pay for those gimme-dats and illegals who are uninsured and costing America billions each year while forcing workers to continue to slave away.

A big chunk of health insurance is indeed funding the “gimme-dats” and others who advantage the system. I’m paying $780/month for just me and it goes up significantly each and every year – and that’s with a $6,000 deductible!

Ken;
Your getting off cheap on your insurance, I have a neighbor thats paying right $2300 just for himself, and can only fine one Broker that will take him…. Of course he’s not very healthy, but $2300 Holy Crapo, he pays over $3k for him and family PER MONTH!!!!!

Tommyboy
on 06/26/2018 at 11:50 AM

Also, when you say unfunded and social security in the same line,,,,
I paid into that for years, so dont give me that unfunded BS, it was theft by the political class and DC,
NOMFI

Wow, a lot said and so much of it so true. I’m not sure about the value of PMs. Reading on other sites doesn’t show them performing as well as we might hope to expect. Thinking of daisy’s site and comments from the Balkans (Yugoslavia) and Venezuela. I have some but think my real value stocks are the food and lack of debt.

When Brexit happened I played a hunch and bought gold mine stock. It did very well but lately it has been rather flat and slowly dropping. Our IRA has lost a lot over the past month, gold has dropped about $40.00 an ounce and silver is down about 3 cents an ounce over the past couple of weeks. You would think with the market dropping it would be going up.

All in all the best advice I can think of is invest in yourself. Be out of debt and store lots of food!

Great article and very eye opening. The question, which I do not think can be answered, is when will the bubble in fact burst? I’m fairly new to this site and appreciate the insight from everyone. I just want to do what I can to prepare for situations/events like this and others. Thanks!

BTH, If you asked me that question years ago, I would have thought the bubble would have burst by now. That goes to show how unpredictable it all really is. Also, I would not have guessed the stock market would have gone up so much during these past recent years. Hindsight is 20-20, as they say.

So what to do? Diversify.

Additionally, I prepare for worst case scenarios while at the same time knowing that it might never happen. But that’s okay because I will have lost nothing in my preparations.

How will I have lost nothing? Because my preparedness efforts are all practical things, skills, lifestyle changes – all which benefit both in good times and bad.

Could this be the end of Social Security after the mid term elections,Social Security, has been robbed and pillaged by the politicians for years to cover this or that. There has been nothing left for years. Just the government borrowing from the federal reserve putting more debt on us.

The anti-Trump power structure (deep state and the rest) would probably not hesitate to crash the economy leading up to the November mid-term elections. Anything to blame Trump, and at the expense of anything or anyone…

What’s really frightening, is not the EMP’s the Nuke’s or even Pandemic, it’s how extremely fragile the Economy really is.

Someone sneezes in China and the EU goes nuts, a Drought in South America and the price of Coconuts skyrockets.

Now take a chance that TDS (The Deep State) & TPTB, OR the Unions get pissed because they just loss the Supreme Court Decision, they decides to shut down the Trucking Industry for a single week, you tell me what would happen?

It will only take 1 of a hundred things to spark a shut-down and subsequent melt-down of the Country.

Crash? Adjustment? Truth is NRP no one will know as such announcements of a crash is done by rear view mirror. I’m not being flippant but in my study of the Great Depression the market did not suddenly drop to zero. There were mild drops, followed by horrifying drops, followed by mild recoveries, followed by mild drops etc. A up and down but over time a downward curve pattern. I do know the newspapers (the internet of the time) followed (I.E. Backwards looking) each event with it’s just a correction and better times ahead with the occasional All is lost reporting for the huge drops.

Ken, I have heard you say Diversification as a defense from economic downturns. Could you explain that term for me please?

@NH Michael, Diversification in my view, in this context, is to put your eggs in various baskets. Perhaps one basket would presume a booming economy. Perhaps another would presume a failing market. And those in-between. That’s basic investment strategy to hedge one’s bets.

Additionally, one’s eggs do not have to go (just) into traditional market type investments. One might also diversify into tangible physical acquisitions that might benefit financially. Other tangibles might benefit towards one’s own self sufficiency, preparedness, and other such beneficial assets.

Basically, it’s spreading around your risks. Not betting it all on Red or Black 😉

Ken with respect your answer is almost as clear as mud. How about some examples of egg baskets for say a failing economy?

I assume that in a failing economy your trying to preserve wealth or is there ways to make money in failing markets? Given that Social Security and pensions are pretty much toast most of us are interested in wealth preservation.

Is paying off your debt or even better having no debt an example of Diversification or simple good financial sense?

Your well read, aware and successful so how about some examples of Diversification for MSB folks.

That would become specific investment advice, which I won’t give. Don’t ever want to be liable for that. Choices are mostly unique to individuals, their goals and circumstances. Over the years of my posting I have offered general opinions in this area. One of them has always been to rid one’s self of debt where possible. Especially non productive debt.

NH Michael
on 06/27/2018 at 10:52 PM

A reasonable answer Ken, I can respect that. When people ask me medical questions I try to stay in the general for liability reasons.

Do you think folks would find interesting the event timeline of the Great Depression vs. the current market situation? I can see a lot of interesting (as in Chinese Curse) points of similarity to include sad to say nasty politics from the Democrats towards Hoover as to gain seats and Presidency via the suffering of the country.

So in short your comment that the left seems willing to crash the system is pretty solid given their historical habits.

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